UAF Toxicology and Ecosystem
Impacts
INE, Dr. Robert A. Perkins, PE
IAB, Dr. Mary Beth Leigh
Kelly McFarlin
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Over viewing INE Tox Eco
INE and Toxicology
u With IAB
Dispersants and Oil Spills
Testing Programs and Capabilities
Types Laboratory Testing (Kelly)
Current
Biodegredation
Use of Data in Decision-Making
Partners and Friends
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Personnel
INE
IAB
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Oil Spills and Dispersants
“After oil is spilled, nothing good happens.”
Mechanical Recovery
In situ Burning
Mechanical (Natural) Dispersion
Chemical Dispersion
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HOW DISPERSANTS WORK
THE GOAL: REDUCE OIL CONCENTRATION TO LESS THAN IMPACT
LEVELS AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE
2) APPLICATION OF DISPERSANT
1) OIL/WATER INCOMPATIBILITY
Na+
HYDROPHILIC
LIPOPHILIC
Cl–
Cl–
Na+
3) OIL SLICK DISPERSES INTO DROPLETS WITH MINIMAL ENERGY
Cl–
Na+
Surfaces of Droplets
Repel Each Other...
No Coalescence
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Mixing oil and water
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Slide Courtesy
of Alun
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Why do small oil droplets float more
slowly than large oil droplets ?
STOKES LAW
Dh/t = D2(rw - ro)g
18hw
Small oil droplets rise much
more slowly than large
droplets
Slide Courtesy of Alun Lewis
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Effectiveness
Type of oil
Weathering state
Sea state and weather conditions
Generally published for major dispersant
formulations
UAF has done standard lab tests on these
Meso-scale tests are common
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Removes Oil from Surface
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Puts oil into the water column
Fig. 1-9. Concentrations of oil in the water column following dispersal of a 0.1 mm thick slick of fresh oil
treated with a chemical dispersant (after Lewis and Aurand,
1997)
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Are Dispersants Toxic?
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Scientific toxicology
Seeks to understand the natural laws regarding
effects
Applied toxicology
Seeks to establish safe doses (concentrations)
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http://info.lu.farmingdale.edu/depts/met/ind310/i
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ndustrialtoxicology.html
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Blue is therapeutic effect
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Green is harmful effect
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LC50?
Method of comparing chemicals and
situations
Modeling
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DISPERSION EFFECT
OF THE
WATER
COLUMN
Water Currents Distribute
OilOFOver
Area
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OK, but
Are dispersants toxic?
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CROSERF
Chemical Response to Oil Spills: Ecological Effects
Research Forum
Boxes of Literature
No standardized :
Oil
Weathering state
Dispersant
Dosing rate or method
Analysis
Species
Mixing
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Sponsors of Research
Texas General Land Office (TGLO);
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
(FL DEP);
California Office of Oil Spill Prevention and
Response (CA OSPR);
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
(ADEC);
Exxon Corporation;
American Petroleum Institute (API), and
Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC).
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Plus
Minerals Management Service (MMS);
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and
Chevron Corporation
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Universities and Sponsors
University of California, Santa Cruz (later UC
Davis) - CA OSPR
University of South Florida - FL DEP
Texas A&M University - TGLO
University of Alaska Fairbanks - ADEC
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CROSERF Testing
Standard species and standard oil
Calibrate labs
Standard species and local oil
Is our oil different?
Local species and local oil
Are our local species different?
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Test Regimes
Species
Mysid
u Fish larvae
u Tanner crab larvae
u Microtox
Oils
u PBCO
u ANS, Fresh
u ANS, Weathered
• 200 deg. C.
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Treatment
u WAF [water accommodated fraction]
u CE-WAF [chemically enhanced WAF]
Exposure, 96-hr
u Chambers
u Static with Renewal
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Almost forgot
VOA
u C6-C9
BTEX
TPH
u C10-C36
THC, and
Loading
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Whoops
Warm
25 °C
Cold
4 to 7 °C
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Fresh CE-WAF
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Eco Tox Testing Goals
Test relevant species
Sensitive life stage
As close to environment conditions beneath
a spill
Establish dose-response
Input to modeling environmental effects
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Test Species
Whales to microorganisms
Best would be convenient and relevant,
Convenient - amenable to laboratory testing
Relevant - important to the ecosystem in
question, recognized by the public,
sensitive to the chemical.
“Standard” test species
u All warm, 20 C, water
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KELLY
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Arctic Testing
Toxicitiy
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Background
Joint Industry Program to Evaluate the Effects of
Dispersed Oil on Cold Water Environments of the
Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (JIP)
• JIP sponsors: Shell, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Conoco
March 2008 workshop facilitated focus of research
and methods used
Workshop participants: local community, academia,
resource agencies and industry
• UAF, NOAA, MMS, NSB, ExxonMobil, Shell, PWSSC,
PWSRCAC, USCG, ACS, AKVAPLAN-NIVA, and SINTEF
Workshop proceedings
u Identified two key arctic species for toxicity testing that were
primarily chosen based on their location in the pelagic food
web
• Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida)
• Copepod (Calanus glacialis)
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Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida)
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Copepod (Calanus glacialis)
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Sculpin (Myoxocephalus sp.)
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Barrow Laboratory
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The Barrow Arctic Research Center,
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KELLY
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Field Expeditions
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Oil type? Chukchi, Beaufort
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END Kelly
Kelly on difference with arctic and non
speices
Lag time, etc.
Bio degredaiton
AMOP
IOSC
PEER REVIEW
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Use of Data
Confront misinformation
u “Microbes that degrade oil are not present in the
Arctic” – testimony to Oil Spill Commission
“Regardless of their effectiveness, questions
remain regarding the potential toxicity and
impacts of dispersants on Arctic
ecosystems.” xii [National Commission on the BP Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. OFFSHORE DRILLING IN THE
ARCTIC: BACKGROUND AND ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE
CONSIDERATION OF OIL AND GAS ACTIVITIES Staff Working Paper No.
13 quoting from http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/oil-spillprevention-and-response-in-the-us-arctic-ocean-unexamined-risksunacceptable-consequences-8589942645 ]
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Modeling
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Forward and Current Models
Forward
u
u
u
u
Set limits on dispersant use
Pre-approvals
Water depth
Geography
Current
u Spill response options
u Risk analysis, NEBA
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Models
Use wind and current data
Need oil properties with time
Predict location and thickness of slick
Predict concentration of oil in water column
Analyze harm to marine life
u Need time of year and other details
Long term
u Beached
u Biodegraded
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Experience and Capability
Arctic Marine Tox, bio deg, eco Testing
u Two years
Barrow Lab
u
u
u
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Set up lab
HSE issues
IACUC
BASC, administration
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Friends and Partners
CROSERF
u Seward Marine Center
u SeaLife Center
Current work with Creosote in Southeast
u UAS
u NOAA NMFS
• NSB Wildlife, others
JIP
u Shell, ExxonMobil, Statoil, Conoco
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TAC of JIP
NOAA
BOEMRE
EPA
ADEC
COOGER
u Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research
u Fisheries and Oceans Canada
SINTEF
u Joint industry program on oil spill contingency for
Arctic and ice covered waters
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Arctic Species Sensitivity Distribution
Gro Harlaug Olsen, Lionel Camus, Mathijs Smit, Tim Smith,
Iris Jæger, JoLynn Carroll,
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Questions, Discussion
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